Japanese research center fuses natural design elements with energy efficiency

The ROKI Global Innovation Center or “ROGIC,” as its designers nicknamed it, maximizes natural light with plentiful windows, most of which can be opened, as well as skylights to allow daylight to replace artificial interior lighting. That feature alone saves up to 35 percent of the building’s lighting energy. Allowing fresh air to flow through the building from the nearby Tenryu River and adjacent forest reduces the need for air conditioning, cutting the heating and cooling load by an estimated...